/pol/ - International /Pol/itics & /Bant/er

Tan Malaka, who was born with the name Ibrahim Gelar Datuk Sutan Malaka in Suliki, West Sumatra, in 1897, was a revolutionary thinker whose idea of "Republic of Indonesia" appeared long before this country was established. Growing up in a religious Minangkabau noble family, his intelligence led him to study as a teacher at Kweekschool Bukittinggi until he finally got the opportunity to study in the Netherlands. In the Land of Windmills, his eyes are wide open to the reality of colonialism and social inequality. He not only studied education, but also devoured leftist books and discussed with world revolutionary figures, who then formed his radical and anti-colonial political views.

Upon his return to his homeland, Tan Malaka did not choose a comfortable path as a colonial government employee, but plunged directly to see the suffering of the people. He once taught contract kuli children at the Deli plantation, where he witnessed for himself the cruelty of modern slavery, before finally moving to Semarang to establish a Public School. There, he taught his students not only to be able to read and count, but also to dare to speak up and think critically. His involvement in the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) made him a fugitive of the Dutch East Indies government, but it should be noted that Tan Malaka was a nationalist and religious communist; he even had a tough argument with the Communist Party in Moscow for rejecting if Pan-Islamism was considered an enemy, and opposing the 1926 PKI rebellion plan which he considered premature and unprepared.

Almost half of Tan Malaka's life was spent on the run and in exile in various countries, ranging from the Netherlands, Russia, China, the Philippines, to Singapore. By mastering many languages and having an extraordinary disguise ability, he is often nicknamed "Patjar Merah Indonesia" because he is as slippery as an eel to avoid the pursuit of colonial secret police in eleven different countries. In the midst of his silent escape, in 1925, he wrote a monumental book entitled "Naar de Republiek Indonesia" (Towards the Republic of Indonesia). This book became the first blueprint for the concept of a republic for Indonesia, which was published long before Soekarno wrote "Indonesia Menggugat" or Hatta composed "Indonesia Merdeka", making him the first person to write the form of a republic for the archipelago.

During the Japanese occupation, Tan Malaka sneaked back to Indonesia secretly and worked as a foreman at the Bayah coal mine, Banten, under the pseudonym Ilyas Hussein. On the sidelines of hard work and witnessing the suffering of romusha, he wrote his greatest philosophical work, "Madilog" (Materialism, Dialectics, and Logic), which taught the Indonesian nation to think scientifically and leave superstition in order to progress. After the 1945 Proclamation, he reappeared on the political stage, but this time he took an opposition position to the Soekarno-Hatta-Sjahrir government. Tan Malaka firmly rejected the path of diplomacy or negotiations with the Netherlands; he echoed the slogan "100% Independence" and demanded that all soldiers and foreign assets leave Indonesia before the negotiations were carried out.

His firm attitude that refuses to compromise makes him considered a threat by the government that is struggling to gain international recognition, so he often goes in and out of prison in the republican era that he dreams of himself. Tragically, the life of the initiator of this republic ended at the end of the gun of his own nation's army. In February 1949, in the midst of Dutch military aggression and internal chaos, Tan Malaka was executed by Indonesian military forces in Kediri, East Java. His tomb was only discovered decades later. Although he was finally designated as a National Hero by President Soekarno in 1963, his name and thoughts had been buried in history for a long time, before finally the new generation returned to explore and appreciate his invaluable services to Indonesia's independence.